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330 celebrities who bought one? Is that number correct? I didn't know that many celebs could afford a $92K car.

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I'm sure that many celebs could afford the car, but I think the number is a little confused. On the Tesla Motors blog, the moderator recently mentioned that "more than 330" Roadsters have been reserved. I think that's in total, and not all of those people are what we'd call celebrities. Though, they may be well known within their own circles.

Also another article on the same topic mentioned that Global Green USA had 30 Tesla prototypes to shuttle celebs to the Oscars. That got my attention because as far as I knew there were still only the 2 cars in the US. But it looks like that was also a mixup. It was 30 cars total that Global Green had. I'm guessing that was a variety of cars and only the 1 red Tesla.

Way back in February there was a lot of press reporting on Global Green and how they were going to bring stars to the Oscars in eco-friendly cars. The Tesla Roadster was there and was widely regarded as the car to be seen in. Everybody wanted to know who was going to be the lucky celebrity to arrive in it.

After the event. . . Nothing. There was no reporting, no mention of it. All I ever saw was a cryptic remark from Darryl Siry -- he said nobody had ridden in the Roadster after all, and the reason would be explained in a future blog on the Tesla website.

Thus far, no such blog has been posted.

Recently I heard the first plausible explanation for what went wrong. My understanding is that nobody wanted to be seen arriving without their date, as the Roadster's sole passenger. (A Tesla employee would be driving, of course.) Who you arrive with is more important than what you arrive in, and arriving by yourself was a non-starter, socially speaking.

I'm sure we'll see the Roadster at some future ceremonies -- after some celebs have had a chance to get their own Roadsters and thus be able to arrive together with their dates.

Ah... The mysteries. Was that really it? Could the Roadster have had technical difficulties?

Also, the drive to Tahoe had a nice Hyatt mention with the SF mayor, but I didn't hear what happened in Sacramento... I think they must have been hoping for some big name politicians to come out in support there, but I have yet to find any write up about how things went in Sacramento that day.

The pace of information from Tesla has slowed quite a bit recently. I think that's understandable. . . They are slated to begin manufacturing Roadsters -- not prototypes, but cars for actual buyers -- within about three weeks, as I understand.

"Who you arrive with is more important than what you arrive in, and arriving by yourself was a non-starter, socially speaking."

I only half-buy this.

I have not yet been to the Oscars but I can imagine that a big star like Dennis Haysbert Dennis Haysbert - Biography or another green actor who does not have a "celebrity" wife or husband might want to make the visual statement by arriving in the Roadster.

That said, if it was me, if my wife would agreed to such a scheme I know she had better be in the car right behind mine or I'm sure it will be no dice.

ABC News: Celebs Go Green at Pre-Oscar Gala
"The celebrities all arrived to the party in a green car. The hottest new green car is the Tesla, an electric car that has zero emissions and goes from zero to 60 in less than four seconds."

Who Rode in the Tesla Roadster Oscar Night? | the IDT Energy Blog
"After spending hours on the web trying to figure out which celebrity got to ride in the Tesla Roadster Oscar night, I was relieved to see that my inability to find the answer was not a function of my searching skills – evidently there is scant reporting on green vehicles from the red carpet."

So Daryl said "there was not a single one" (at the Oscars). So did celebs not ride in one because there wasn't one there, or did they not bother to show up because they decided no one wanted to ride in it? I find it hard to believe that they would have no takers. Also, if they went to the trouble of planning to be there, announcing they would be there, and apparently having a car there beforehand, then why back out at the last minute?

It is hard to believe there would be no takers. If Ed Bagley Jr. was invited, I could just see him tooling up to the red carpet on a bike with Rachelle in the Roadster behind him yelling, "Get off the road!"

I know! Green Peace activists saw the hot red sports car and spray painted it. Nah, that would have made great press.

All or nearly all of the 600 cars should be in the hands of owners by next year's Oscars. A single car this year will get more press than dozens next year but coverage both years would not be bad either.

From this press release:
"The party featured the latest in green automobiles, including the Tesla Roadster electric vehicle and the Fisker Karma hybrid electric, as well as cutting edge green home products and design. The event also kicks-off Global Green’s Red Carpet/Green Cars campaign, where celebrities arrive at the Oscars in fuel-efficient vehicles instead of gas-guzzling limousines.

SUVs are, have always been, and will always be lame. In all but the most narrow of circumstances, they are more dangerous, carry less, and are less efficient than a station wagon or sedan. Let's ignore everything we know about center of gravity, weight, and space to create a compensating-for-something vehicle - oh, and so you can feel good about yourself, we'll put hybrid junk in it so it'll get half the mileage of a good wagon instead of just a third.